History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 117

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry
Publication date: 1921
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 678

USA > Ohio > Harrison County > History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio > Part 117
USA > Ohio > Carroll County > History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio > Part 117

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Ellis Wilmer Mattern, son of John Mattern, was born in Green Township on October 9, 1864, but he was educated in the district schools of Archer Township, and continued to live with his parents on their farm until his marriage, which occurred on February 10, 1887, to Elsie M. Copeland, a daughter of Henry and Martha Jane (Maxwell) Copeland. Since his marriage he has lived on his present farm of sixty-two acres of land, seven acres of which are planted in apple trees, and he also owns 143 acres of land in Green Township. He is a general farmer and stock raiser but of late years has been specializing on raising apples. He and his wife have the following children: Wesley Lloyd, who was born on November 9, 1887, mar- ried Lela Barrett, and they have one child, Wilmer Herbert ; and George Clinton, who was born on September 22, 1889, married Georgie Lyle. Mrs. E. W. Mattern belongs to the Chris- tian Church of Cadiz.

WILLIAM H. MAHAN is a representative of the third generation of the Mahan family in Harrison County, and was born and reared on the fine old homestead farm which is now his place of residence and which is the stage of his successful activities as an agriculturist and grower of live stock. His farm comprises eighty-nine and three-tenths acres and is one of the well improved and productive farmsteads of Nottingham Township.

William Hanson Mahan was born on his present farm, March 18, 1884, and is a son of William and Mary Elizabeth (Bowles) Mahan, the former of whom died on the 23d of Decem- ber, 1915, and the latter of whom passed away

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in April, 1913. William Mahan was born in Nottingham Township, on the 31st of July, 1837. and his early education was gained through somewhat irregular attendance in the common schools of the locality and period. He was one of the young men who went forth from Harri- son County to aid in defense of the Union dur- ing the Civil war. On the 8th of January, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company C, Forty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and with this command he served until the close of the war. He participated in many engagements, including a number of the heavier battles mark- ing the progress of the conflict between the North and the South, and he was mustered out of service July 13, 1865, with attendant recep- tion of his honorable discharge. In later years he perpetuated the more gracious association of his military career by maintaining affiliation with the Grand Army of the Republic. After the war he returned to Harrison County, and for several years thereafter he gave his atten- tion principally to work at the carpenter's trade. After his marriage he purchased the farm now owned by his son, William H., and here he maintained his home from 1873 until the time of his death. He was one of the highly es- teemed and influential citizens of Nottingham Township. where he served as township treas urer, besides having been for seven years a director of the local school district. His politi- cal support was given unreservedly to the re- publican party, and he and his wife held mem- bership in the Bethel Methodist Church.

William Mahan was a son of Joseph and Re- becca (Brown) Mahan, both natives of Harford County, Maryland, where the former was born February 20, 1811, of Welsh and German an- cestry. and where the latter was born on the 20th of July, 1801, a daughter of Joseph and . Catherine ( Bowen) Brown. respectively of English and Irish lineage. Joseph Mahan was a child at the time of his mother's death, and he was reared in the home of his uncle, Wil- liam Mahan, under whose direction he learned the trade of cooper. As a young man he made his way on foot from Maryland to Harrison County, Ohio, where he found abiding place in the home of Ebenezer Brown. who likewise was a native of Harford County. Maryland. In this home he met Miss Rebecca Brown, who had come to this county in company with her two sisters, Catherine and Sarah, and this acquaint- anceship finally resulted in his marriage to Miss Rebecca. Mr. Mahan continued to follow his trade in connection with farm enterprise. and lived in turn in Nottingham. Stock and Franklin Townships, in the last of which bis death occurred on the 25th of March. 1855. his widow having long survived him and having passed to eternal rest on the 6th of December, 1873. They became the parents of three chil- dren : Margaret ( Mrs. Isaac P. Hines) : Re- becca (Mrs. Samuel Wood) and William.

On the 14th of May, 1872. was solemnized the marriage of William Mahan to Miss Mary Eliza- beth Bowles, who was born July 15. 1842. a daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Strahl) Bowles. natives of Chester County. Pennsyl- vania. Thomas Bowles was born in November,

1796, and Hanah (Strahl) Bowles was born July 18, 1801. Thomas Bowles was a pioneer settler near Mount Pleasant, Jefferson County. Ohio, and his first wife, whose maiden name was Amy Nichols, was survived by one child. John, born January 27, 1823. Thomas and Hannah (Strahl) Bowles became the parents of six children : Alfred E. was born November 19, 1828, and died in childhood; Henry C., who was born November 1, 1831. was killed in battle while serving as a soldier in the Civil war: Lindley M., who was born January 3, 1834, became a pioneer settler in Iowa ; Hanson D., who was born November 21, 1836. became a resident of Belmont County, Ohio: Martha J., was born September 24. 1839, and she and her husband, Mr. Pennell, established their home in Monroe County: and Mary Elizabeth be- came the wife of William Mahan, as noted in the opening sentence of this paragraph. Mr. and Mrs. William Mahan became the parents of six children : Joseph L., born June 22. 1873, died when about twenty-one years of age: Ora H., who was born September 30, 1875, was about eighteen years old at the time of his death: Albert V .. who was born October 27. 1877. is married and resides in Mabton, Washington: Rebecca Jennie, deceased wife of Howard De- selms, was born August 23, 1879, and became the mother of two children, William T. and Virginia, the latter of whom is deceased: Luna M., who was born July 5, 1881, is the wife of Ferman C. Hogue, of Piedmont. Harrison County ; and William Hanson.

William Hanson Mahan found in the district school known as the Walker School in Notting- ham Township the advantages which enabled him to fortify himself in youthful education. and later he completed a course in the com- mercial department of Scio College in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1906. He has remained continuously on the old home farm, and is now owner of the prop- erty and has had the active management of the place since 1917. He is aligned with the re- publican party, served five years as assessor of his native township, and takes loyal interest in community affairs. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Bethel Methodist Church.

January 9, 1918. recorded the marriage of Mr. Mahan to Miss Maude Shambaugh. who likewise was born and reared in Harrison County and who is a representative of one of its honored pioneer families. Mr. and Mrs. Mahan have a winsome little daughter. Laur- etta Mary. born April 5, 1919. Philip Sham- baugh, father of Mrs. Mahan, was born on the farm which is his present place of residence. in Rumley Township. Harrison County. and the date of his nativity was February 18. 1851, this ancestral homestead having been land which was obtained from the Government by his paternal grandfather. George Shambauch. and the property having continued in possession of the Shambaugh family for more than a cen- tury. Of the original tract of more than 200 acres. Philip Shambaugh owns 166 acres. He is the youngest child of the late Michael and Hettie (Hazlett) Shambaugh, the former of

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whom was born in Perry County, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1811, and the latter of whom was born April 16, 1816. Michael Shambaugh was a son of George Shambaugh, who was born in Perry County, Pennsylvania, in 1787, a repre- sentative of a sterling family, of German line- age, that was founded in the old Keystone State in the early colonial days. In his native county George Shambaugh married a widow Mrs. Elizabeth (Brown) Wirt, who was born in 1777, and in 1817 they came to Harrison County, Ohio, where Mr. Shambaugh took up Government land and instituted the develop- ment of a farm in the midst of the virgin forest. Prior to coming to Ohlo he had served as a soldier in the War of 1812, and one of his uncles, Joseph Shambaugh, was a youthful sol- dier in the War of the Revolution. George Shambaugh remained on the old pioneer home- stead farm until his death, September 4, 1867. his wife having passed away several years previously. They were the parents of four chil- dren : Philip, Michael, George and Margaret ( Mrs. Samuel Hazlett).

Michael Shambaugh was six years old at the time of the family immigration to Harri- son County, and here he remained on the old home farm until his death, March 20, 1863, his widow having passed away October 22. 1884, and both having been earnest members of the United Brethren Church. They became the parents of ten children, namely : James, Eliza- beth (Mrs. Abraham Fetroe), Mary A. (Mrs. John W. Finnicum), Simon B. (died unmarried and bequeathed a large estate to his brothers and sisters), Adam H., Charlotte (Mrs. Peter Overhold), Maria (Mrs. H. L. Thompson), Jane (died at the age of twenty years), John and Philip.

Philip Shambaugh was reared on the ances- tral farmstead which is his present home, and he completed his youthful education by attend- ing Westerville College one year. He has al- ways lived on the old home place and is one of the representative farmers and citizens of Rumley Township, both he and his wife being zealous members of the United Brethren Church at New Rumley, of which he has been a trustee for fully forty years. On the 15th of March, 1881, Mr. Shambaugh married Miss Eliza Loretta Scott, a daughter of John A. and Eliza (Bivington) Scott, of New Rumley, and of the three children of this union Mary Maude, wife of William H. Mahan, is the eldest; Estella Loretta is the wife of Raymond C. Calhoun, and they have one child, Philip; and Nellie Ruth remains at the parental home.

Mrs. Mahan is a graduate of Scio College and taught school for a number of years at various places, among them being schools at New Rumley, German, and Scio. She finished her teaching in the public schools of Akron.

CHARLES B. MILLER. Among the enterprising farmers of Harrison County whose well-directed efforts have been rewarded by deserved success, is Charles B. Miller of Monroe Township. He was born in Stark County, Ohio, a son of Isaac and Mary (Bricker) Miller, and grandson of

Simeon Miller, a native of Germany, who came to the United States when a young man and established himself in Stark County as a farmer. The children born to him and his wife were as follows : James, Andrew, Isaac, Hannah, Polly, Rachel and Betsy. The maternal grand- father was Jacob Bricker, and he was a saddler of Pennsylvania, who later on in life came to Ohio and here became a farmer and mail car- rier. He became the father of the following family : Mary, Margaret, Minerva, Emma, Clara and Edith.

Isaac Miller was born in Stark County, Ohio, and his wife was born in Pennsylvania. Until about 1878 he was engaged in farming in Stark County, Ohio, but in that year he went west to Kansas and for the succeeding eleven years was there engaged in farming. Returning to Ohio, in 1889, he located on the farm in Mon- roe Township, Harrison County, now occupied by his son, Charles B. Miller, and here he con- tinued to reside until 1909, when he retired, moved to Canton, Ohio, and died in that city, March 26, 1913. His wife died July 1, 1906. Their children were as follows: William, who is deceased; Charles B., who was born June 1, 1872; Edgar, who lives in Stark County ; Stew- art, who is deceased. The family all belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Charles B. Miller attended the public schools of Stark County, Ohio, and Kansas, and com- pleted his education in those of Monroe Town- ship. Since 1889 he has lived on his present farm, and became owner of its 158 acres at the death of his father, and here he has since been engaged in general farming and stock- raising with very gratifying results for his land is fertile and he knows how to operate it as he is a practical agriculturist.

On August 23, 1894, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Mary Helen Crumrine, a daugh- ter of James and Catherine (Dixon) Crumrine. James Crumrine was born in Monroe Township, Harrison County, Ohio, and his wife was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they were farming people of Monroe Township. Mr. Crumrine died April 27, 1916. His children were: Ellen, who is Mrs. Miller; Elizabeth, who lives at Uhrichs- ville, Ohio; and Carrie, who is deceased. The Crumrine family all belonged to Plum Run Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. and Mrs. Miller also belong to this church. Clyde A. is the only child of the Millers, and he married Gladys M. Brown and they have a daughter, Helen Elizabeth, born September 6, 1920.

Clyde A. Miller is a veteran of the great war, having entered the service of his country July 24, 1918. He was first sent to Camp Sherman and assigned to Company E. Three Hundred and Thirty-third Infantry, Eighty-fourth Division. On August 22, 1918, he left Camp Sherman with his organization for Camp Mills, Long Island, and on August 31, set sail on the "Car- manian" for France, landing at Liverpool. Eng- land, on September 13 at six o'clock in the evening. From there the organization went on to Southampton, England, and crossed the Eng- lish Channel on the night of September 17th, landing at Le Havre, France, although the boat

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was. torpedoed when nearing the harbor, but managed to reach it before sinking. After land- ing in France he had the misfortune to be stricken with the influenza, and was confined in the hospital for a month on account of it. Following his recovery he was sent to Le Mans, France, where he was assigned to the Three Hundred and Eighth Motor Transport Train, and remained with this organization until his return to the United States. On June 16, 1919, he left Le Mans and sailed from Le Havre on June 28, arriving in New York City July 8, 1919. He received his honorable discharge July 18, 1919, at Camp Sherman, and returned home. His marriage occurred on October 14, 1919. Like the majority of the young soldiers of this memorable conflict Mr. Miller is very modest about his service, but the fact remains that when his country had need of him he responded to its call and risked his life and limb in its behalf. No man can make such a sacrifice without emerging from the experience a better citizen. A land worth dying for is certainly one worth the best efforts of its American-born people, and it is doubtful if any of the returned soldiers will be indifferent to the welfare of the land in whose behalf they took up arms.

PETER T. CLOSE, who is now living virtually retired, in the Village of Dellroy, Carroll County, still retains possession of a valuable farm property of eighty-one acres, in Monroe and Rose Townships, and in connection with the returns given in connection with the agri- cultural and live-stock phases of his farm enter- prise good financial results have attended also the operation of coal mines on the farm. Mr. Close is a native son of Carroll County and is a representative, in the third generation, of a family that was founded in this section of Ohio more than a century ago.

Peter Thorley Close was born in Harrison Township, this county, on the 12th of Novem- ber, 1847, and is a son of Joseph and Margaret ( Thorley ) Close, whose marriage was solemn- ized in this county on the 20th of November, 1838. Joseph Close was born in the settlement that still bears the name of Island Creek, in Jefferson County, Ohio, on the 18th of August. 1815, and his wife was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Joseph Close was a son of Peter and Rebecca (McMurland) Close, whose marriage was solemnized in the State of Pennsylvania. Peter Close was born in Ger- many, in the year 1775, a son of John Close. and his wife was born in Ireland, in 1785. she having been a child when she was brought to America and having been reared and educated in the State of Virginia. When Peter Close was a lad of ten years he came to America in company with neighbors who immigrated from Germany, and after landing in the port of New York City he eventually made his way on foot to Virginia, in which state he remained until the time of his marriage, soon after which important event in his career he came with his wife to Ohio and became a pioneer of the Island Creek district in Jefferson County. There he remained until April 9, 1820, when he came

with his family to what is now Monroe Town- ship, Carroll County, where he leased the par- tially improved farm owned by Dr. Samuel Black, one of the pioneer physicians of this section of Ohio. On this farm he remained until 1828, when he obtained from the Govern- ment a tract of eighty acres in section 5, that township. He reclaimed this land from the forest, developed a productive farm and on the homestead he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, Mrs. Close having died in 1863 and his death having occurred in the following year. Peter Close served as a private in the War of 1812, and his political allegiance was given to the democratic party, both he and his wife having been earnest communicants of the Lutheran Church. They became the parents of nine children, all of whom are now deceased, namely : Sarah, John. Michael, William, Peter, Rebecca, Phoebe (Mrs. Thorley). Jane (Mrs. Robbins), and Joseph.

Joseph Close was about five years old at the time of the family removal to what is now Carroll County, and here his early educational advantages were those of the pioneer schools of Monroe Township. In his youth he learned the carpenter's trade, and as a skilled workman his services continued to be in demand in con- nection with building operations in this section for many years. He became a successful farmer, but continued to work more or less at his trade until within a few years of his death. which occurred in 1890, his wife having passed to the life eternal on the 12th of November. 1886. After his marriage Joseph Close pur- chased a tract of forty-five acres in Monroe Township. not far distant from his father's farm. and there he remained until 1868. when he removed to a farm which he had purchased in 1864, the same comprising 114 acres, partly in Monroe and partly in Rose Township. On this farm he passed the remainder of his life. and in addition to his work as a carpenter and millwright, he was for a number of years the owner and operator of a saw mill. He was an influential member of the local contingent of the democratic party, and he gave twelve years of effective service as justice of the peace, both he and his wife having been zealous members of the Presby- terian Church. They became the parents of eleven children, of whom John and Elizabeth died when young; Mrs. Jane Briceland was a resident of Greencastle, Indiana. at the time of her death; Peter T., of this sketch, was the next in order of birth; Thomas is a resident of Oneida, Carroll County : Mrs. Phoebe Huff re- sides in Monroe Township and Mrs. Sarah Bower in Rose Township, this county : William : Mrs. Margaret C. Marshall resides in Monroe Township; John R. is a farmer in Rose Town- ship: and Mrs. Rebecca Griffin resides in Stark County.

Peter Thorley Close gained his early educa- tion in the schools at Atwood and Dellroy, and thereafter he was employed at farm work the greater part of the time until he had attained the age of twenty-two years. His initial farm enterprise of independent order was made when he purchased the farm which he still owns and

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which he improved into one of the valuable properties of his native county. He continued to reside on his farm until he virtually retired, and is now living in an attractive home in the Village of Dellroy. He is a stalwart in the local camp of the democratic party and is now serving his fourth term in the office of justice of the peace. He has served also as mayor of Dellroy, and he was for two terms a member of the democratic committee of Monroe Town- ship, these various preferments indicating alike his personal popularity and his influence in public affairs of a local order. He has various capitalistic investments and is one of the sub- stantial men of his native county. The Close family was among the first to settle in Carroll County, and the Thorley family likewise gained pioneer distinction in this section of the old Buckeye State. There has been organized the Close and Thorley Family Society, which holds reunions at regular intervals and these meetings draw together numerous representatives of the two families. besides tending to perpetuate memories and associations of the pioneer days. Peter Close, an uncle of Peter Thorley Close, was one of the venturesome spirits who went across the plains to California in 1849, at the time of the discovery of gold in that state, and he made the journey with an ox team.

The year 1892 recorded the marriage of Mr. Close to Mrs. George Griffin, a daughter of John and Sarah Booth. Mr. and Mrs. Close have no children, but Mrs. Close has two children by her first marriage: Martha Jane and Cora, who is the wife of William Moore, of Union Township. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have six chil- dren, all of whom are living except Chester K .. twin brother of Harry K. Both of these young men entered the nation's military service in the World war, Chester K. having become a member of Company G. Fifth United States Infantry, in which he was assigned to service in the medical corps, and he died while in active duty in France. Harry K. entered service at Carrollton, was sent to Cleveland, and after receiving due preliminary training he accom- panied his command to France, where he saw his full share of active field service. While in France he married a young woman of that war- scarred country, and they are now at the home of his parents, in Union Township, Carroll County.

JOHN M. BOYD. Having by persistent energy, keen foresight, and wise investments accumu- lated a fine property, John M. Boyd is now living in Carrollton, Ohio, retired from active business cares, and is enjoying to the fullest extent the reward of his many years of assidu- ous toil. He was born, November 23, 1851, in Morrow Township, Carroll County, of Virginia ancestry.

His father. John Boyd, was born in West Virginia. at Carters Station. and as a young man migrated to Ohio, settling in Carroll County in pioneer days. Taking up a tract of wild land in Morrow Township. he cleared and improved a valuable homestead, on which he spent the remainder of his long life of seventy- five years. He was at first identified with the

republican party, but subsequently became an ardent prohibitionist. Both he and his wife were active members of the Methodist Episco- pal Church. He married Matilda McQueen, who was born in Carroll County, Ohio, where her parents, John and Margaret (Crozier) Mc- Queen, were veritable pioneers. She preceded him to the life beyond, dying on the home farm in April, 1878, when but fifty-one years of age. Seven children were born of their union, as follows: Amanda, James, John M., Mary Mar- garet, William, Anna, and Frank.

Gleaning his early knowledge of books in the rural schools of Morrow Township, John M. Boyd grew to manhood on the home farm, and under his father's instructions obtained a prac- tical knowledge of general agriculture as then carried on. He subsequently made use of his native mechanical talent, being especially handy in the use of tools, and for many years was en- gaged in carpentering. In October. 1918. Mr. Boyd moved to Carrollton, where he is living retired. A man of excellent business ability and judgment, he has accumulated considerable valu- able property, owning a farm of 214 acres in Morrow Township, and one of ninety-four acres in Monroe Township. He is a staunch democrat in politics, and both he and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Mr. Boyd married. December 24. 1874, Mi- nerva West, who was born in Carroll County, Ohio, January 9, 1852, a daughter of Michael C. West, and grand-daughter of Charles and Margaret West. early pioneers of Monroe Town- ship, where they cleared and improved the homestead on which they spent their remaining years. Michael C. West grew to manhood on the home farm in Monroe Township, and was later engaged in mercantile pursuits in Lees- ville, where during the Civil war he raised Com- pany A, Eightieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was sent to the front as captain of that com- pany. After receiving his discharge, he settled on a farm, and there resided until his death. in 1875. when fifty-one years of age. Michael C. West married Susan James, a daughter of Thomas James. She survived him many long years, passing away in September, 1918, at the venerable age of eighty-nine years. Michael C. West was a steadfast republican in politics, and an active member of the Grand Army of the Republic.

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History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 117

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Number of Pages: 678

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry
Publication date: 1921
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 678